Large-scale buyers of agricultural commodities are increasingly pressuring upstream actors in their supply chains to achieve specific sustainability standards. This puts pressure on smallholders who may not fully understand the standards they are meant to meet.

Create a direct link with smallholders

While many supply chain solutions begin with downstream actors in supply chains, mFarmer is specifically designed to connect with the first link — independent smallholders. This allows us to gather more accurate and relevant data about farming commodities from the time of harvest, along with capturing more informative data that will better validate the methods in which crops are cultivated and harvested. Most importantly, smallholders can be better informed about the sustainability standards they are expected to uphold.

Provide content for sustainability

Many of the world’s farmers lack access to, or awareness of, vital information such as weather data, optimal uses of fertilizers and inputs, sustainability best practices, and other useful content that can boost their yields leading to greater profitability and improved livelihoods. mFarmer is designed to not only to capture data, but to aggregate and distribute useful content to smallholder farmers in supply chains around the world helping them to be more sustainable in their farming methods and in managing their small enterprise.

Accessible on the devices smallholders use

The bulk of the world’s farmers are living at the base of the economic pyramid with limited access to broadband data and either a basic smartphone (at best), or a feature phone as their means for accessing broadband content. Because of this we designed mFarmer specifically with accessibility in mind. mFarmer is available on Facebook’s Free Basics and even as a browser based mobile website. It is accessible in multiple languages using minimal data on any device with a basic web browser.

Earn the right to be in their hands

mFarmer is designed to be a resource for independent smallholder farmers by providing sustainability best practices and capturing data that can better inform supply chains. By helping smallholders become more sustainable and profitable we earn the right to be on their mobile devices and connect them to broader supply chains.

Our team was funded by Unilever Foundry in partnership with GrowAsia to develop the mFarmer platform for connecting smallholder farmers to buyers, along with empowering them to become more sustainable in their practice.